Coming Full Circle to “The Only Thing We Have to Love Is Love Itself”

Posted at Conscious Life News on June 27, 2013
By Lisa Hays

Like many of you, I was a young student in history class when I first heard Franklin D. Roosevelt’s famous words the”only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. Ever since I first heard those words, something about them did not ring true to me. Something about them was off key. But why did I feel this way? Like so many things in my life, the “why” got shelved until one hopeful day I could begin to remember the answer. Today, I finally remembered the answer to the “why” I asked myself so long ago.

I will not opine on why FDR felt compelled to mesmerize the world with these specific words in that auspicious time. No, I won’t ponder what he may have felt or feared. What I will share with you is the answer to why his famous words don’t ring true to me. As more and more of us are questioning our fundamental teachings, we can start to ask “why”.

Being told the ”only thing we have to fear is fear itself” is being told to stay in fear. When we stay in fear and create fear in our perceived reality, we start seeing death, destruction, hatred, injustice, abandonment, lack, illness and everything fear represents. When we allow fear to take over our mind, it doesn’t feel good.

What if FDR had instead chosen to tell the world the “only thing we have to love is love itself”? The world would surely be a different world today. For being told that the “only thing we have to love is love itself” is to be reminded that we can let go of fear because fear is an illusion in our perceived reality.

Consider other famous statements such as “Love thy neighbor” and Love your enemy”. These statements ring true to me, do they to you?

How can we “tune” FDR’s words so they feel right? The only way to tune his words is to come full circle where love is all there is. For you see, fear is halfway around the circle where everything is off key. If we believe that the “only thing we have to fear is fear itself’ we stop at the half circle point. Once we remember that staying in fear does not serve us, we can leave the half circle point and come full circle.

Let me illustrate. Suppose your best friend lied to you. As you remember that her lie does not feel good, does not serve you, you have a choice. You can stay in fear at the half circle point and feel the fear emanating from her lie and betrayal. And you can even choose to amplify your fear by gossiping to all your friends about how unjust you perceive her lie and betrayal to be.

Or you can come full circle. You can let go of the lie and betrayal. You can leave the half circle point and go all around the circle, to its beginning where love is all there is and everything is in tune. When you do this, you will remember to love the fear itself. You will remember to love the friend who betrayed you with her lie. You will remember to love the very acts of lying and betrayal.

If we want to tune FDR’s famous words, we must change them from the “only thing we have to fear is fear itself” to the “only thing we have to love is love itself”. Staying stuck at the half circle point is off key. Coming full circle is in tune and feels right.

If we can love our neighbor and our enemy, we have come full circle. If we can FEEL love while observing fear, we have come full circle.